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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

How much do we spend on a year of preschool in Berkeley, California

We have loved Star's preschool. She has been treated with respect, learned how to treat others respectfully and has learned useful skills (listening, writing and monkey bars among them.) Star attended preschool from 8:30am - 5:30pm (I actually usually pick her up around 4:45pm, but we pay until 5:30pm) 5 days a week. I don't resent the money that we spent, but I wish I had a bit of a more realistic sense ahead of time.Without further ado, below is what we spent for a year of preschool. Some of these numbers are estimates, and it's possible that I missed something major, but I think this is pretty accurate. Also note that these are the numbers for her last year of preschool. The prior 2 years were more expensive because at the preschool Star went to, tuition is higher for the younger kids.Tuition - $1595 per month x 11 months = $17,545Winter Camps - $450 x 2 weeks = $900. The $450 number is an estimate. I usually seem to spend around $450 for a week of camp. Sometimes it's a bit more and sometimes it's a bit less. (When she starts 2nd grade, she might go to sleepaway camp which will triple the $450 per week estimate, but we can wait a few years until we get to that.)

Summer Camps - $450 per week x 4 weeks = $1,800. See note above.

Random field trips, various days off, auction, gifts for teachers... - $500

Morning Helpers - $2,000. We have a Cal student come to our house most mornings at 7:30am to finish getting Star ready and to push her in the stroller to school. Scott and I leave for work at 7:30am, and this is the system we've found that works for us.

Total Annual Cost = $22,745

Star is about to start public Kindergarten, and when she does, I plan to start posting about how much public Kindergarten in Berkeley actually costs. I know that it's not really free, but it's some mystery as to what we will actually be asked to pay for.